A possible conservative federal government is exposed to the risk of legal proceedings if it persists in its desire to renege on the Trudeau government’s word on funding the Quebec tramway, warned Mayor Bruno Marchand.
“If we start tearing up all the agreements that were made by our predecessors when we are elected, forget all the possible projects. We will always be revising and tearing up agreements for which we will put ourselves in prosecution mode, in legal mode, to enforce agreements even though we will have incurred expenses. It’s not working,” thundered the mayor of Quebec on Wednesday afternoon in an impromptu press release.
Should we understand that the City of Quebec could sue a possible conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre? “We’ll see. Is it the government of Quebec (which would sue)? We will work on this with our various partners. The City will not do things alone. In Canada, historically, you commit your government when you sign an agreement, but you commit the governments that follow depending on the duration and terms of the agreement,” he replied.
Injustice and interference
More generally, Mr. Marchand reiterated that it would be “unfair” for Quebec not to benefit from federal funds for its tram line, while the city’s citizens pay, through their taxes, for structuring transportation infrastructure elsewhere in Canada. He also insisted that the tram and the 3e link are two distinct projects and that an agreement has already been signed for TramCité.
“It’s special to want to create an open federalism, a decentralizing federalism and to say: ‘We, when we are in power, we are going to govern and we are going to make fun of others,’” lamented the mayor of Quebec .
Tuesday, the conservative Pierre Paul-Hus, MP and Pierre Poilievre’s lieutenant for Quebec, told the Journal that the $1.44 billion in federal funding would go to 3e link, rather than the streetcar, if his party were to be brought to power in Ottawa.
Political reactions
On Wednesday, the Liberal Minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, reacted by way of a declaration by maintaining that Mr. Paul-Hus “returns to the charge with his promise to steal 1.44 billion dollars from the people of Quebec.”
-Recalling that Prime Minister François Legault has already called for a Conservative election in Ottawa, the head of Transition Québec, Jackie Smith, declared that “Mr. Legault invites interference from Mr. Poilievre to kill the tramway.
For his part, the unelected leader of the second opposition, Patrick Paquet, considered on the contrary that it is not a question of interference on the part of the federal government to choose not to finance a project prioritized by the government of Quebec.
– With the collaboration of Stéphanie Martin
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